I call behind me, “I’ll grab you a pair too. You want a tee-shirt or sweatshirt?”
“A freaking snowmobile suit.” She sighs.
“Sweatshirt it is.”
I hand her the first ones I find, and then I toss my soaked jeans on the heater and crank it up. I grab the only other pair of sweats in her suitcase. The pink ones.
When she walks out, she looks fucking incredible but exhausted. Then she walks by me, not looking in my direction, and tells me, “You should rinse your shirt. They should be dry in a couple hours. If you want to rest here, you can.”
Hell yes, I do, I think.
Shirt in hand, I hurry into the bathroom, rinse my shirt, wring it out, and then walk back out and throw it over the back of the desk chair before dragging it as close to the heater as I can. When I turn around, she’s snuggled under the covers, completely.
I walk over and sit on the edge of the bed. Crystal blue eyes pop out from under the covers, and she tells me. “There’s a blanket and pillow in the closet.”
When I stand to get them, I hear a soft laugh, and look back. “Laugh it up, little Ross. A real man isn’t afraid to wear pink.”
With blanket and pillow in hand, I walk to the side of the bed. “Scoot over a little?”
She shakes her head.
“So, I get the floor?” I laugh, thinking it’s a joke.
It’s not.
I take the floor.
After trying to get comfortable for what seems like hours, Kendall turns off the side lamp.
“Ben?”
“Kendall?”
“Thank you, and I’m sorry.”
“For what? Making me sleep on the floor?”
“It wouldn’t be appropriate.”
I sit up. “You ever sleep in a bed with that Jòse?”
“Of course not,” she says on a yawn.
“Didn’t you date him for a hot minute?” When she doesn’t say anything, I ask another question, which will either be ignored or get me thrown out. “So, you really are still a virgin?”
As expected, she doesn’t answer.
“Not poking fun, Kendall; just trying to understand why you’ve never taken the step.”
She sighs then turns on the light, sits up, and looks down at me. “A million reasons.”
“Wanna give me the top ten?”
She holds up one finger. “I don’t want to just sleep with anyone. I want to give that part of me to a person who will cherish me. And before you make a joke about that, I mean for more than ten minutes. Two, I’ve watched people I love nearly break because their relationships were built on attraction, and that’s not going to be a solid enough foundation for me. Three …” She stops, and I see a blush spread across her cheeks.
Sitting up, I say, “Go on.”
“I’ve never felt head-over-heels for someone. Some may think there’s something wrong with me, but—”